Zatte Bie | Brouwerij De Bie

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Reviews by Ego:

eyes...
boiling head. what the hell does that mean ? OK.. here it goes, you pour this thing and the head looks like it is nearly boiling while it is crackling and fading into nothing extremely quickly.. and very audible also. interesting and unique. dark brown with some sediment in the bottom of the glass, light has to struggle to penetrate this.

nose...
deep dark herbal honey, it tries to hide the alcohol but you can sense it here, dark fruits slathered in honey... the nose is deep and heavy, it is almost like breathing in honey.. it "smells" that thick. this smell is so interesting and deep I have to rate it highly.. I haven't smelled anything like this.. total dark honey. this almost smells like a honeyed barleywine.

taste etc.
more honey. which hides the ABV of this thing way too well.. oddly enough I don't find this "too sweet" for me. mouthfeel is medium with very subtle carbonation that doesn't get in the way of the flavor. this one is strange... when you hold it in your mouth you don't get much, only when you let it finish... it drinks way too easily in this manner. DEFINITE warming in the stomach from this. I am getting a bit of molasses flavor in this one as well. it coats the mouth very nicely but the carbonation dries it up just enough to urge another sip. There is a hint of bitterness on the back sides of the tongue which adds an interesting element.

verdict?
this would make a fantastic digestif with dessert. maybe not something to pair up with uber cheese but more along the lines of oatmeal cookies.. or black forest cake... a really interesting ale.

Appearance: Deep tawny brown with a light tan lace that foams up well as retains until the beer is finished.

Smell: Caramel and candied fruit, earthy to the point of being mineral-like with a vague vanilla bean in the mix. Soft and sweet on the nose with subtle fruity aromas.

Taste: Medium body with a smooth and semi-creamy mouth feel, sweet with a light tart twang. Sweetness from the malt is close to cloying but the mild alcoholic esters and its spiciness help to balance, the hops are there but do not get in the way of the malt. The sweetness is the back is from the residuals of raw honey. The strength of the alcohol is quite deceiving as the warmth is slow. Suggestions of bing cherries, vanilla and apple skin are complex by-products that bring the brew to the next level. Seems like more toasted malt flavour come through when the beer warms up a bit. The brown or toasted malt flavour is sizable in the front and slowly mellows into the finish.

Notes: Perhaps a bit too sweet for some, certainly a desert beer or even a night cap of a brew. Enough complex flavours to draw the taste buds away from the sweetness here and there.

750 ml corked and capped bottle with a label depicting a napping brewer with a swarming bee and beehive above the barrel he is resting his head on. Unusual label, and the cork was a bear to remove, even with a corkscrew. This pours into a goblet a dirty, chestnut brown with a small tan head that quickly falls into a longlasting collar. Attractive sheet lacing is left on the goblet. No sediment noted.
Aroma begins with malty chocolate and toffee, quickly joined by dark fruits(prune juice), and mild spicing. Raw clover honey is also prominent, as is an earthy yeast presence.
Mouthfeel reveals a medium full body, with a spritzy carbonation that is uniquely Belgian.
Taste begins with a dark fruit sweetness that evokes coriander spiced prune juice. Mild note of toffee, strong note of raw honey, and plenty of herbal hops bitterness. The promising start goes downhill midway through with some harsh acidic yeastiness and a medicinal note from the otherwise concealed alcohol. The finish is dry and acridly bitter from a dank yeastiness. This follows into the aftertaste, and convinces me that this is an ale to avoid in the future. The aroma and initial tastes remind me very much of one of Unibroue's strong dark Belgian style ales, like Trois Pistoles, or La Fin Du Monde. Zatte is rougher around the edges, however, and lacks the balance of its Canadian counterparts. Maybe, the green color of the bottle played a role here, but this one disappointed.

Appearance: Deep mahogany brown tone with a nice full more than two finger sized tan head leaves perfect even lacing scatter evenly around my glass. Aroma: Toasted malts a blend of honey not bad even sweetness but not cloying in anyway just yet seems a bit stale. Taste: Dark roasted malts with a tinge of honey doesn't finish well hops seem stale if at all decent. Mouthfeel: Medium body sprizty effervescent carbonation not smooth in anyway. Drinkability: This beer just doesn't work for me find me another aged Belgium ale because this one doesn't succeed.

33 cl bottle. Beer poured a deep dense brownish, almost black color and with a thick tan head that lasts awhile and gives way to a solid ring and lacing. The nose was a bit sweet, some fruit tones. Hints of honey but it is not in the beer. The taste is more of the same and you get a taste of the higher abv and a solid body. As the beer warms the fruit aromas come out a bit more and you get some bready yeast notes. Well rounded beer.

Great taste that reminds of a hybrid of mead and a basic Belgian brown. Malt and honey mingle well, with some additional fruit character showing up. An almost hazelnut tinge here too. Alcohol is felt but it's timid, present enough to provide a mellow warming sensation.

The thick-ish, buttery-just-shy-of-syrupy mouthfeel only helps the delivery of the flavor.

Despite a higher ABV, Zatte Bie is very easy to drink. It goes down smooth and will give you a glow after only a few good sips.

Pours a cloudy dark orange with a frothy white head that hangs around for a while. Fruity nose reveals a good amount of sweet malt, stone fruit, molasses, a touch of Belgian yeast, and a distinct alcohol presence. Palate is complex - up front, sweet malt with notes of honey, molasses, and dried fruit, becoming sharper in the back of the mouth with a touch of hops and the yeast coming forth. Warming alcohol sensation on the finish lasts for a while. Mouthfeel is a little lacking, simultaneously thin and syrupy, I don't know how to describe it. While interesting, this is a difficult beer to drink. Of course, the bottle I have is almost two years old, so maybe it's better in its prime.

This one has one of the most distinguised heads out there. The huge frothy mass just kinda stays. The color is a deep brownish burgundy. There is a pleasant yeasty aroma. The taste features a wonderful interplay between the malt and underlying yeast with hints of caramel and bourbon. The huge body deducts somewhat from the drinkability, but this one's great.

Had a bottle in some halloween-themed cafe outside of Ghent. This was certainly something different and not for everyone. This beer tastes like a doppelbock, btu drinks like a dark ale - meaning its a bit smoother and sweeter. The aftertaste was a bit lacking, but I was happy to find something a little out of the norm here in Belgium.

Another four-year old bottle that has kept well. Nice dubel smell with scent of honey. Pours dark and bubbly, looks like a Coca-Cola, with sediment stuck to the bottom of the bottle. Taste full of sugar and honey. Malts are nicely dark, but not roasted. Sweet, but not cloying.

pours out a deep brown, nice large head, impressive. aromas of malt, bready yeast, mild honey sweetness etc. not bad. in the mouth it is crisp, bubbly, lively...everything a nice belgian should be. taste wise, youve got your light fruitiness, sweet malt, a touch of honey, some caramel and a decent slap of alcohol. but it seems a bit un-balanced. but hey maybe thats just me. a big beer that is drinkable, but not overly so. one was fine for me.

Pours clear red-edged mahogany with no head and thin tendrils of lace. Smells quite mellow and alcoholic at this age. Aroma is full of toasted oak-edged malt, cookie dough, sugary plums and raisins. Lots of vinous fruity alcohol. Flavor is a bit of a let-down (perhaps too much age on this bottle). Chewy lightly toasted caramel malts give way to touches of rounded dark fruit. Finishes abruptly with strong medicinal alcohol sourness and burning. Viscous and nearly-cloying body with some residual carbonation. Not something I'd rush to drink again, though I might attempt a fresher bottle if I found one.

Poured a tan head with fine-small bubbles. There was lacing on all sides of my mug. It has a reddish-brown body. It was thin and watery. I could taste the alcohol in this brew. This is another brew to be sipped and enjoyed and not guzzled in my opinion. I did not notice any aftertaste with this brew.

Smell: The smell is luciously sweet, with strong honey and sugar notes.

Taste and Mouthfeel: The taste is a great sweet and sour mix, with strong honey and candi sugar tastes. It has the sweetness of mead, the sourness of a lambic, the complexity of a flanders red, and the body of a Belgian dark ale. The complexity is outstanding.

Drinkability and Overall: This is a truly unique ale in my opinion. It's hard to fit it into a specific catagory, but whatever the hell it is I thoroughly enjoyed every last ounce in my glass.

A somewhat vague cranberry color on the pour, the head is lavish, the lace glutinous sheets that cling longingly to the glass, both light chocolate in color. Nose is nutty sweet, malt, and caramel, also lightly smoked. Front is sweet malt, top is flimsy, the finish is sparingly acidic, satisfactorily hopped, somewhat malt dry. A decent drinking beer, with a bit of "Belly warming" as you quaff the beer.

A damp smell of soil, with roasted malt that reminds both of caramel and honey. These flavors are also found in the mouth, lips that is both soft and slightly sweet but with a presence of hops and spice. It also feels touches of honey rather discreet but present throughout the tasting, and especially in the aftertaste, this without prejudice to the notable qualities of hops and yeast hops that make this beer very significant .

Pours hazy dark brown with a huge creamy light brown head. Sweet roasted malt aroma with a light note of honey. Slight sweet into a more herbal and slight acidic finish with bitterness. Reveals some malty and yeasty mixtured flavour with a slight edge and some softness from the honey. Good but nothing really thrilling.

Intense dark color, the head was thin. When you see the beer, you know its gonna be good.
Fruity smell, pear maybe with hints of cherry. You can feel the high abv too.
Powerful taste, woody, with hints of cherry, very malty, some spices, and a strong flavor of wine on the palate as an aftertaste. I usually dont like the liquorish taste of some strong dark ales, but I found this one to my taste. Some tiny bubbles pleasingly bite the tongue as you drink it. The hops arent that present in the beer. and me and my friend found it really drinkable. My friend wants me to add that Zatte bie is more refreshing than other beers of the same style. Im almost sorry for not having noticed any honey flavor, although most of the other reviewers did and although theres a bee on the label of the bottle